Meyer: Tebow looks 'terrific'

Wednesday

Sep 30, 2009 at 1:37 PM

Following Tuesday's practice, Meyer said he saw Tebow when he went through the balance and memory tests with his quarterback and said that Tebow looked OK and was still experiencing headaches. Meyer said Tebow "looked terrific" after he saw him Tuesday night.

By Edward AschoffCorrespondent

Four days after All-America quarterback Tim Tebow sustained a concussion in the third quarter of Florida's 41-7 win over Kentucky, Urban Meyer said he's looking much better.

Following Tuesday's practice, Meyer said he saw Tebow when he went through the balance and memory tests with his quarterback and said that Tebow looked OK and was still experiencing headaches. However, during the weekly Southeastern Conference teleconference Wednesday, Meyer said Tebow "looked terrific" after he saw him Tuesday night.

"That's the best I've seen him look," Meyer said.

Tebow rejoined his teammates Tuesday after spending Saturday night in Kentucky at University of Kentucky Chandler Medical Center. He did not practice Monday or Tuesday.

Meyer was asked Wednesday if he and his coaches had given any thought to changing the way plays are run with Tebow once he returns. Meyer said there has been talk about changing his protection, but that with Tebow's style of play, it could be hard to monitor the amount of hits he takes. He does hope that this incident will make Tebow more aware of the consequences of subjecting his body to so many hits each game.

"Heís not a typical quarterback," Meyer said. "Typical quarterbacks, when they get in the open field they run out of bounds and they slide. A lot of the runs are not decided runs (for Tebow). If something's not there, a lot of quarterbacks throw it away. You donít see Tim do that often, heís going to try to get positive yards.

"Heís got to know when to get down and not subject himself to those things."

Even with all the hits Tebow has taken in the open field, Meyer said he wasn't surprised that the one that literally took him out of a game came while he was standing in the pocket. Meyer said most "high-impact collisions" occur either on special teams, to defenseless receivers in the open field or with quarterbacks unaware of defenders coming while they're in the pocket.

With Tebow being an option-style quarterback, Meyer said he's less susceptible to taking hits like that behind the line of scrimmage.

"Iíve said that all along," Meyer said. "The option football quarterbacks rarely take a pounding because youíre simply option football Ö and (the quarterback usually has to) pitch the ball. The big guy that takes a pounding (in the pocket) isnít a good option quarterback.

"A lot of times when Tim takes a hit is when he decides to try and run over someone on a scramble. Same thing on the short yardage."

Also on Wednesday's SEC conference call, LSU coach Les Miles went out of his way to wish Tebow a speedy recovery:

"Like a lot of people around college football I'm a big fan of Tim Tebow and how he plays. We wish the best for him and his family. We think he is great for college football. So we would like to see him play against us in a couple of weeks. But obviously that's going to be up to the doctors and his family."

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.